For now everyone is at home where they will go out. “Channel One” abandoned “While everyone is at home” due to the scandal with orphans
The first major defeat of the Wehrmacht was the defeat of the fascist German troops in the Battle of Moscow (1941-1942), during which the fascist “blitzkrieg” was finally thwarted and the myth of the invincibility of the Wehrmacht was dispelled.
On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a war against the United States with the attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 8, the USA, Great Britain and a number of other countries declared war on Japan. On December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. The entry of the United States and Japan into the war affected the balance of forces and increased the scale of the armed struggle.
In North Africa in November 1941 and in January-June 1942, military operations were carried out with varying success, then until the autumn of 1942 there was a lull. In the Atlantic, German submarines continued to cause great damage to the Allied fleets (by the fall of 1942, the tonnage of sunk ships, mainly in the Atlantic, amounted to over 14 million tons). In the Pacific Ocean, at the beginning of 1942, Japan occupied Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Burma, inflicted a major defeat on the British fleet in the Gulf of Thailand, the Anglo-American-Dutch fleet in the Javanese operation, and established supremacy at sea. The American Navy and Air Force, significantly strengthened by the summer of 1942, defeated the Japanese fleet in naval battles in the Coral Sea (May 7-8) and off Midway Island (June).
Third period of the war (November 19, 1942 - December 31, 1943) began with a counteroffensive Soviet troops, which ended with the defeat of the 330,000-strong German group during the Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943), which marked the beginning of a radical change in the Great Patriotic War and provided big influence on the further course of the entire Second World War. The mass expulsion of the enemy from the territory of the USSR began. The Battle of Kursk (1943) and the advance to the Dnieper completed a radical turning point in the course of the Great Patriotic War. The Battle of the Dnieper (1943) upset the enemy’s plans for waging a protracted war.
At the end of October 1942, when the Wehrmacht was fighting fierce battles on the Soviet-German front, Anglo-American troops intensified military operations in North Africa, conducting the El Alamein operation (1942) and the North African landing operation (1942). In the spring of 1943 they carried out the Tunisian operation. In July-August 1943, Anglo-American troops, taking advantage of the favorable situation (the main forces of the German troops took part in the Battle of Kursk), landed on the island of Sicily and took possession of it.
On July 25, 1943, the fascist regime in Italy collapsed, and on September 3, it concluded a truce with the allies. Italy's withdrawal from the war marked the beginning of the collapse of the fascist bloc. On October 13, Italy declared war on Germany. Nazi troops occupied its territory. In September, the Allies landed in Italy, but were unable to break the defenses of the German troops and suspended active operations in December. In the Pacific and Asia, Japan sought to retain the territories captured in 1941-1942, without weakening the groups on the borders of the USSR. The Allies, having launched an offensive in the Pacific Ocean in the fall of 1942, captured the island of Guadalcanal (February 1943), landed on New Guinea, and liberated the Aleutian Islands.
Fourth period of the war (January 1, 1944 - May 9, 1945) began with a new offensive of the Red Army. As a result of the crushing blows of the Soviet troops, the Nazi invaders were driven out of Soviet Union. During the subsequent offensive, the USSR Armed Forces carried out a liberation mission against European countries and, with the support of their peoples, played a decisive role in the liberation of Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria and other states. Anglo-American troops landed on June 6, 1944 in Normandy, opening a second front, and began an offensive in Germany. In February, the Crimean (Yalta) Conference (1945) of the leaders of the USSR, USA, and Great Britain took place, which examined issues of the post-war world order and the participation of the USSR in the war with Japan.
In the winter of 1944-1945, on the Western Front, Nazi troops defeated the Allied forces during the Ardennes Operation. To ease the position of the Allies in the Ardennes, at their request, the Red Army began its winter offensive ahead of schedule. Having restored the situation by the end of January, the Allied forces crossed the Rhine River during the Meuse-Rhine Operation (1945), and in April carried out the Ruhr Operation (1945), which ended in the encirclement and capture of a large enemy group. During the Northern Italian Operation (1945), the Allied forces, slowly moving north, with the help of Italian partisans, completely captured Italy in early May 1945. In the Pacific theater of operations, the Allies carried out operations to defeat the Japanese fleet, liberated a number of islands occupied by Japan, approached Japan directly and cut off its communications with the countries of Southeast Asia.
In April-May 1945, the Soviet Armed Forces defeated the last groupings of Nazi troops in the Berlin Operation (1945) and the Prague Operation (1945) and met with the Allied forces. The war in Europe is over. On May 8, 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered. May 9, 1945 became Victory Day over Nazi Germany.
At the Berlin (Potsdam) Conference (1945), the USSR confirmed its agreement to enter the war with Japan. For political purposes, the United States held on August 6 and 9, 1945 atomic bombings Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On August 8, the USSR declared war on Japan and began military operations on August 9. During Soviet-Japanese war(1945) Soviet troops, having defeated the Japanese Kwantung Army, eliminated the center of aggression in Far East, liberated Northeast China, North Korea, Sakhalin and Kurile Islands, thereby hastening the end of World War II. On September 2, Japan surrendered. The Second World War is over.
The Second World War was the largest military conflict in human history. It lasted 6 years, 110 million people were in the ranks of the Armed Forces. More than 55 million people died in World War II. The Soviet Union suffered the greatest casualties, losing 27 million people. Damage from direct destruction and destruction material assets on the territory of the USSR amounted to almost 41% of all countries participating in the war.
The material was prepared based on information from open sources
At 4 o'clock in the morning on June 22, 1941, the troops of Nazi Germany (5.5 million people) crossed the borders of the Soviet Union, German planes (5 thousand) began to bomb Soviet cities, military units and airfields. By this time, World War II had been going on in Europe for almost two years. At the first stage of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1942), the Red Army suffered one defeat after another, retreating further into the interior of the country. About two million Soviet soldiers were captured or died. The reasons for the defeats were the army's unpreparedness for war, serious miscalculations by the top leadership, the crimes of the Stalinist regime, and the surprise of the attack. But even during these difficult months, Soviet soldiers heroically fought the enemy. The defenders of the Brest Fortress held out for a whole month after the front line had moved far to the east. At the end of 1941, the enemy stood several tens of kilometers from Moscow, and Leningrad was completely surrounded. But the German plan to end the war in the fall was thwarted. As a result of the Red Army's counteroffensive near Moscow in December 1941, the Germans were driven back. Leningrad, under siege, bravely held on - despite the fact that the most terrible blockade winter of 1941-42. Hundreds of thousands of peaceful Leningraders died from hunger and cold. In the summer of 1942, German units began attacking Stalingrad. For several months, selected Wehrmacht units stormed the city. Stalingrad was turned into ruins, but the Soviet soldiers who fought for every house survived and went on the offensive. In the winter of 1942-1943, 22 German divisions were surrounded. The war has reached a turning point. In the summer of 1943, the largest tank battle World War II, in which the Nazis lost about 350 tanks and 3.5 thousand killed. Under the blows of the Red Army, German units began to retreat to the borders of the Soviet Union. And in the German rear it flared up guerrilla warfare. Enemy echelons flew downhill, squads of punitive forces and traitorous policemen were destroyed. The Nazis responded to the actions of the partisans with terror against the civilian population, but the outcome of the war was already a foregone conclusion. By the summer of 1944, the Red Army liberated the territory of the Soviet Union and began to liberate European states captured by the Nazis. At the same time as the Soviet Union, the war against the Germans was waged by the allies of the anti-Hitler coalition - England, the USA and France. In the summer of 1944, the long-awaited second front was opened, which eased the position of the Red Army. In the spring of 1945, Soviet and allied troops entered German territory. The final Berlin operation began, in which Soviet troops were commanded by Marshal G.K. Zhukov. On May 9, 1945, Zhukov, together with the Allied military leaders, accepted the surrender of Germany. The country paid a huge price for its victory: about 27 million people died, millions were left crippled and disabled, and a third of the national treasure was destroyed. Victory in the Great Patriotic War is one of the brightest pages in the history of our country.
Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) - the war of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics against Nazi Germany and its European allies (Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, Croatia)
The history of the Great Patriotic War is divided into three stages:
1) June 22, 1941 - November 19, 1942, i.e. from the German attack on the USSR to the start of the counter-offensive of Soviet troops at Stalingrad - the breakdown of the blitzkrieg, creating conditions for a radical turning point in the war;
2) November 17, 1942 - December 1943 - a radical turning point during the Second World War and the Second World War, the transfer of strategic initiative to the Soviet Army ended with the crossing of the Dnieper and the liberation of Kyiv;
3) 1944 - May 9, 1945, the complete expulsion of the invaders from the territory of the USSR, the liberation of the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe by the Soviet Army, the final defeat and surrender of Nazi Germany.
GERMANY'S TREASONABLE ATTACK ON THE USSR
Preparations for war - from the late 20s.
BUT by 1941 the USSR was not ready for war.
The Nazis have the military potential of all of Europe;
Repression of command personnel in the USSR
The element of surprise is also associated with Stalin’s credulity in Hitler’s promises after August 23, 1939
Germany occupied: France, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Greece, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Poland.
Pro-German regimes: Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania.
Germany's allies: Italy, Japan. Türkiye.
Plan Barbarossa
The lightning war and the defeat of the USSR army in the summer campaign of 1941.
Directions: “North” - to Leningrad (commanded by General von Leeba), “Center” - to Moscow (von Brauchitsch) and “South” - to Odessa and Kiev, in addition - Group “Norway” was supposed to control the situation in the North Sea . The main direction is “Center” - to Moscow
By the summer of 1941, there were 5.5 million soldiers on the USSR border from the Barents to the Black Sea (Germany + allies + satellites).
USSR: 4 military districts. 2.9 million people
Far East, South – 1.5 million people. (invasion by Turkey and Japan is expected).
RETREATS OF SOVIET FORCES (June-September 1941)
The first days of the war
On the eve of the war, Stalin repeatedly received intelligence about an impending attack, but refused to believe it. It was only at midnight on June 21 that a series of orders were given to put troops on combat readiness - and this was not enough to deploy a multi-layered defense.
June 22, 1941. - powerful attacks by the air and mechanized armies of Germany. “On June 22, at exactly 4 o’clock, Kyiv was bombed, they announced to us that the war had begun...”
66 airfields were bombed. 1200 aircraft destroyed ->German air supremacy until the summer of 1943.
June 23, 1941. – Headquarters of the Main Command (Headquarters of the Supreme High Command). The head is Stalin.
June 30, 1941. – State Defense Committee (GKO). Chairman - Stalin. The entirety of state, party, and military power.
Retreats of the Red Army in the first month of the war
In the first month of the war, the following were abandoned: the Baltic states, Belarus, Moldova, most of Ukraine. Losses - 1,000,000 soldiers, 724 thousand prisoners.
3 main failures of the first months of the war:
1) Smolensk defeat
The Nazis: to take possession of the “gates of Moscow” - Smolensk.
->almost all armies were defeated Western Front.
USSR Command: accused a large group of generals of treason, the head of which was the commander of the Western Front, Colonel General D.G. Pavlov. Trial, execution.
The Barbarossa plan cracked: the capital was not captured in mid-July.
2) South-West Russia and Kyiv
500,000 dead, together with the commander of the Southwestern Front, Lieutenant General M.D. Kipronos.
Kyiv was taken ->strengthening the Nazis' positions ->breaking through the defense in the Moscow direction.
August 1941- the beginning of the siege of Leningrad.
August 16, 1941. –order No. 270. All who are in captivity are traitors and traitors. The families of captured commanders and political workers are repressed, the families of soldiers are deprived of benefits.
3) in the Moscow direction to October-November 1941. 5 armies were surrounded and thereby opened the way for the Nazis to Moscow
BATTLE FOR MOSCOW
The plan to take Moscow from Hitler is “Typhoon”. On September 30, he spoke on the radio (“Not a single Moscow resident, be it a woman, an old man or a child, should leave the city...”)
According to plan:
Army Group Center sweeps away Soviet defenses and captures the capital before winter sets in. In the convoy there was pink granite for the monument to the victorious German soldier on the site of destroyed Moscow (later it was used on Gorky Street - now Tverskaya - for cladding buildings, including the Post Office).
Beginning October I am the approach of the Nazis to Moscow. Stalin urgently summoned Zhukov from Leningrad
October 16- day of general panic in Moscow, valuables are taken away, including the State Tretyakov Gallery (paintings)
November 6- meeting of the Moscow City Council at the Mayakovskaya metro station. Stalin spoke. "Victory will be ours!" It has been decided that there will be a parade on November 7th!
November 7- parade, from Red Square soldiers and militias (25 divisions) - went straight to the front along the street. Gorky and to Voikovskaya, there is a front line
By the end of November 1941. – Germans at a distance of 25-30 km. from Moscow.
The Dubosekovo patrol - 28 Panfilov heroes (commanded by Panfilov), political instructor Klochkov: “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat, Moscow is behind!”
3 fronts:
United Western - direct defense of Moscow (G.M. Zhukov);
Kalininsky (I.S. Konev);
South-Western (S.K. Timoshenko).
5 armies of the Western and Reserve Fronts are in the “cauldron”.
600,000 people – surrounded (every 2nd).
Moscow, Tula, and a significant part of the Kalinin region were liberated.
Losses during the counteroffensive:
USSR – 600,000 people.
Germany: 100,000-150,000 people.
Near Moscow - the first major defeat since 1939.
The blitzkrieg plan failed.
With the victory in the Battle of Moscow, there was a radical turn (but not yet a turning point!) in the course of the war in favor of the USSR.
The enemy - to the strategy of a protracted war.
By the winter of 1941: losses - 5,000,000 people.
2 million were killed, 3 million were captured.
Counteroffensive - until April 1942
Successes are fragile, soon there will be major losses.
Unsuccessful attempt to break the blockade of Leningrad (established in August 1941)
The 2nd Shock Army of the Volkhov Front was defeated, the command and head - A.A. Vlasov - were captured.
Fascists: defeat in the Battle of Moscow -> it is impossible to launch an offensive along the entire Eastern Front -> strikes in the south.
Stalin: waiting for a second attack on Moscow, despite intelligence reports. The main forces are near Moscow.
Order to launch a series of diversionary strikes in the south (Crimea, Kharkov). Against - the head of the General Staff B.M. Shaposhnikov -> a complete failure.
Dispersion of forces -> failure.
May 1942. - in the Kharkov direction, the Germans surrounded 3 armies of the Southwestern Front. 240 thousand prisoners.
May 1942. - defeat of the Kerch operation. »150 thousand prisoners in Crimea. After 250 days of siege, Sevastopol was surrendered.
June 1942- Nazi advance towards Stalingrad
July 28, 1942–"Order No. 227"- Stalin – “Not a step back, Under no circumstances should the city be surrendered”
Retreat without command orders is a betrayal of the Motherland.
Penal battalions (for commanders and political workers)
Fines (for sergeants and privates).
Barrier detachments behind the backs of the combatants. They have the right to shoot retreating people on the spot.
end of August– occupied Abgonerovo (the last settlement near Stalingrad)
Simultaneously: August 1942- a group of fascists in the Caucasus.
Beginning of September - we occupied the embankment, the square in front of the department store... Fighting for every street, for every house
End of September - battles for height 102 (“Mamaev Kurgan” - now there is a monument to the Motherland)
Autumn 1942 - 80 million people. in the occupied territory.
->the country lost
Human Resources;
Largest industrial areas;
Giant agricultural areas.
The brunt of the siege fell on the 62nd Army under the command of General Chuikov. The capture of Stalingrad = cutting of the Volga transport artery, through which bread and oil are delivered.
The period of radical change.
Fundamental change = transition from defense to strategic offensive.
Battle of Stalingrad
Frontier - Battle of Stalingrad.
November 19, 1942- Southwestern Front (N.F. Vatutin), Don Front (K.K. Rokossovsky), Stalingrad Front (A.I. Eremenko).
They surrounded 22 enemy divisions, 330 thousand people.
December 1942 - an attempt to break through the encirclement from the Middle Don (Italian-German troops). Failure.
The final stage of the counteroffensive:
The troops of the Don Front carried out an operation to eliminate the encircled enemy group.
The command of the 6th German Army surrendered. F. Paulus (came to our side and subsequently began to live in the GDR, was Chairman of the German Peace Committee).
During the Battle of Stalingrad:
Nazi losses - 1.5 million people, ¼ of all forces.
Losses of the Red Army - 2 million people.
The final stage of the Battle of Stalingrad® general offensive of Soviet troops.
January 1943- successful breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad south of Lake Ladoga. The corridor is 8-11 km. “Road of Life” on the ice of Lake Ladoga. Connection with the whole country.
The Battle of Kursk (Orel-Belgorod) is the final stage of the turning point.
Germany: they planned to carry out a major offensive operation (“Citadel”) in the Kursk region in the summer of 1943. Here, at our Headquarters, the operation was called “Suvorov\Kutuzov”, since its goal was the liberation of 2 cities (Orel and Kursk) “The war brought us to Kursk and Orel, to the very enemy gates, such, brother, are things...”
They wanted to destroy the entire southern wing.
50 divisions, 16 tank and motorized. "Tiger", "Panther".
THE USSR: 40% of combined arms formations. Slight superiority in troops.
Central Front (K.K. Rokossovsky);
Voronezh Front (N.F. Vatutin);
Steppe Front (I.S. Konev) and other fronts.
First stage
The Germans are on the offensive. Up to 35 km deep.
The largest oncoming tank battle of the 2nd World War.
1200 tanks on both sides. Russian victory
Second phase
The main enemy groups have been defeated.
August 5, 1943- Belgorod and Orel are liberated -> the first artillery salute in Moscow.
Liberation of Kharkov = completion of the Battle of Kursk.
30 enemy divisions were defeated, losses were 500,000 people.
->Hitler was unable to transfer a single division from the Eastern Front to Italy, where a political revolution took place;
->intensification of the Resistance movement in Europe.
->the collapse of the theory of “General Frost” - that is, weather conditions (winter, terrible frosts that were typical for 1941-1942), which allegedly contributed to the hardy Russians. Battle of Kursk - the first summer battle
Counteroffensive near Kursk ® strategic offensive of the spacecraft along the entire front.
Soviet troops - to the West, 300-600 km.
Left Bank Ukraine and Donbass have been liberated, and bridgeheads in Crimea have been captured.
Crossing of the Dnieper.
->end of the battle for the Dnieper.
Hitler's Germany - to strategic defense.
The period of liberation of the USSR and the defeat of Nazi Germany
The successful actions of the Soviet army in 1944 in “Stalinist” historiography were associated with the “commanderial genius” of this “father of nations.” Hence the term “Stalin’s 10 strikes of 1944.” Indeed, the SA offensive in 1944 was characterized by 10 major operations, and the overall strategy was a constant change in the direction of the main attack (which did not allow the Germans to concentrate forces in any one direction)
Leningrad (L.A. Govorov) and Volkhov (K.A. Meretskov) front. Liberation of the Leningrad and Novgorod regions.
The 1st Ukrainian (N.F. Vatutin) and 2nd Ukrainian (I.S. Konev) fronts surrounded the Korsun-Shevchenko group. The central event of this “blow” was the restoration of the Soviet border: March 26, 1944– troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front – on the border with Romania.
3. Beginning of May 1944– liberation of Crimea = completion of the autumn-winter offensive.
4. June-August 1944- liberation of Karelia. Finland withdrew from the war and broke off relations with Germany
5. Operation "Bagration" = liberation of Belarus., general direction - Minsk-Warsaw-Berlin. June 23 – August 17, 1944 Three Ukrainian Fronts (Rokossovsky, G.F. Zakharov, I.D. Chernyakhovsky), 1st Baltic Front (I.Kh. Bagramyan).
6. July-August 1944– liberation of Western Ukraine. Lviv-Sandomierz operation Late August 1944– the offensive was stopped in the foothills of the Carpathians by the strengthened and fierce resistance of the Nazis.
7. August 1944– Iasi-Kishinev operation. 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts. Moldova and Romania were liberated, 22 divisions of Army Group “Southern Ukraine” were destroyed. Romania, Bulgaria - overthrow of pro-fascist governments. These countries declared war on Germany.
8. September 1944- from Moldova and Romania - to help the Yugoslav partisans. Josip Broz Tito
10. October 1944– Northern Fleet + Northern Front: liberation of the Soviet Arctic, expulsion of the enemy from the Murmansk region. The northeastern regions of Norway have been cleared of the enemy.
LIBERATION CAMPAIGN OF THE USSR ARMED FORCES
Romania ® Bulgaria ® part of Poland ® part of Norway
® part of Hungary ® Yugoslavia ® remaining part of Poland ® remaining part of Hungary ® Austria ® Czech Republic
End of September 1944 - at the request of I. Broz Tito (commander-in-chief), Soviet troops carry out the Belgrade operation to liberate the capital of Yugoslavia
October 1944- Belgrade is liberated.
LIBERATION OF BERLIN
February 1945– Vistula-Oder operation. = continuation of Operation Bagration
600,000 soldiers died in Poland during its liberation.
Vistula-Oder operation = salvation of the Allied operation in the Ardennes (American losses there - 40,000 people).
Beginning of April 1945 - complete liberation of Hungary and Austria.
250,000 people died.
1st, 2nd Belorussian Front (Zhukov, Rokossovsky), 1st Ukrainian (Konev).
Hitler committed suicide
May 8, 1945, V Karlshorst (near Berlin)- representatives of the USSR, USA, England, France and Germany signed an act of complete and unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany.
From the USSR - G.K. Zhukov. From Germany - Keitel (this general studied in the USSR as an exchange student in the late 30s (!) after the non-aggression pact)
May 9, 1945- Soviet troops entered Prague, the Prague garrison resisted until May 12, not recognizing the act of surrender
RESULT OF THE WWII: unconditional victory of the Soviet people. June 24, 1945 there was a parade on Red Square (fascist banners were thrown to the Mausoleum, but - this is not shown in the chronicle - ordinary Muscovites felt sorry for the captured Germans, who were led through the Moscow streets as a sign of victory, and brought them bread)
17. WWII
Great Patriotic War of 1941
The reasons for the failures of the USSR at the beginning of the war and the reasons for the failure of the Krieg blitz.
Mein Kampf: Hitler stated that the destruction of the USSR as a socialist. The state is the meaning of his whole life. The purpose for which the National Socialist movement exists. Based on this, one of the Wehrmacht directives read: “many millions of people will become redundant in this territory, they will either have to die or move to Siberia.”
In December 1940, Hitler approved the Barabarossa plan: 2-3 months after the start of the war, German troops should reach the Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line. The war began on June 22, 1941 at 4 am. It lasted 1418 days and nights.
There are 4 periods.
Before December 1, 1941, the USSR lost 7 million people. Several tens of thousands of tanks and aircraft. Reason: objective:
A) superiority in material means of warfare
B) there are 400 million Germans in human resources. 197 million USSR
C) more management experience modern warfare.
D) surprise of the attack.
Subjective:
A) Stalin’s underestimation of diplomatic means of warfare. On June 14, 1941, a TASS statement was published in newspapers stating that Germany’s preparations for war with the Soviet Union had no basis.
B) the transfer of troops to the pre-war position was not carried out.
C) repression in the army: 85% of the command staff held their posts for less than one year. Of the 733 former commanders of the Komprits, 579 were repressed to become marshals. It takes 20 years to train an army commander.
D) distortions in ideological work.
The first period of the war.
June 30, 1941 creation of the state. Defense Committee: Stalin, Molotov, Voroshilov, Malinkov, Bulganin, Beria, Voznesensky, Kaganovich, Mikoyan.
It was done: the institution of military commissars was introduced, following the example of the civil war. In the shortest possible time, the military economy was transferred to a military footing. By the winter of 1941, 10 million people and 1.5 thousand large industrial enterprises were sent to the east. The formation of new formations in the rear was accelerated. 36 divisions of the people's militia were formed. The result was the defeat of the Germans near Moscow. On November 6, a meeting was held at Mayakovskaya station in honor of the great October Revolution. Parade on November 7th.
Defeat of the Germans near Moscow. Germany's first serious defeat. July August 41, the governments of England and the USA announced their support for the USSR. Contacts were established with France, Slovakia, etc. The anti-Hitler coalition was founded. Formed on January 1, 1942. After the Japanese attack on the Hawaiian Islands. In the fall, the coalition already included 34 states with a population of 1.5 billion people. Activation of the resistance movement in all 12 countries occupied by Germany.
2nd period of the war. Events and facts. Battle for Stalingrad. Changes in the totalitarian democratic system: cessation of repression, elimination of the institution of military commissars. The growth of the Comintern. Revival of the traditions of the Russian army. Introduction of military ranks. Guards, shifting the emphasis in ideology to the defense of the fatherland. Strengthening the role of the church. Spring 1943. General offensive of Soviet troops. Breaking the blockade of Leningrad.
July 5, 1943 - the battle on the Kursk Bulge began. For the first time in the war, the balance of forces changed in favor of the Red Army, the isolation of Germany in the international arena began, the landing of Anglo-American troops in Italy, and the overthrow of the Mussolini regime in Italy. The USSR for the first time overtook Germany in production various types military products. There is a development of positive personnel changes in the country. Voroshilov and Budyonny find themselves in secondary roles.
Gross violations of national policy continue. Mass relocation of Germans to the Volga region, destruction of their autonomies. 1943 – eviction of Kalmyks. 1944 – eviction of Balkars, Chechens and Ingush; more than 1 million Tatars were evicted from the Crimea and the Caucasus.
Third Period of War. Liberation mission of the Soviet troops. The year 1944 began with major offensive operations by Soviet troops in the northern and southern directions: lifting the blockade of Leningrad, liberating the Novgorod region, Estonia, right-bank Ukraine and Crimea. On June 6, 1944, a second front was opened in Europe. July 1944 – liberation of Belarus, Operation Bagration. By the end of 1944, all Soviet territory was liberated. By the beginning of 1945, 11 European countries were liberated. More than 1 million Soviet soldiers and officers died during the liberation of the countries of Eastern Europe. April 16, 1945 - the beginning of the Berlin operation. On May 8, the act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed.
The fourth period of the war. The question of the USSR's participation in the war against Japan was resolved in February 1945 at the Yalta Conference. Hostilities began on August 9 and ended on September 2. August 6 and 8 – Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Kwantung Army was defeated in August 1945; on September 2, the Japanese surrender act was signed on the American battleship Missouri.
Results of the Second World War.
Churchill: “It was the Russian army that gutted the German war machine.” In total, about 60 million people died in World War II. Of these, the USSR lost 27 million, Germany - 13, Poland - 6, China - 5 million. Japan - 2.5 million, Yugoslavia - 1.7 million, France, England and the USA - 1 million 300 thousand people. Of the 18 million imprisoned in concentration camps, 11 million died.
The international authority of the USSR increased sharply. The USSR received the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin. East Prussia and the city of Königsberg (Kaliningrad) were transferred to us. Changes in the totalitarian system. The Gulag, repressions, the formation of Stalinist-style regimes in Eastern European countries and the resettlement of repressed peoples.
The Great Patriotic War- the war of the USSR with Germany and its allies in – years and with Japan in 1945; component Second World War .
From the point of view of the leadership of Nazi Germany, war with the USSR was inevitable. The communist regime was seen by them as alien, and at the same time capable of striking at any moment. Only the quick defeat of the USSR gave the Germans the opportunity to ensure dominance in the European continent. In addition, it gave them access to the rich industrial and agricultural regions of Eastern Europe.
At the same time, according to some historians, Stalin himself, at the end of 1939, decided on a preemptive attack on Germany in the summer of 1941. On June 15, Soviet troops began their strategic deployment and advance to the western border. According to one version, this was done with the aim of striking Romania and German-occupied Poland, according to another, to frighten Hitler and force him to abandon plans to attack the USSR.
First period of the war (June 22, 1941 – November 18, 1942)
The first stage of the German offensive (June 22 – July 10, 1941)
On June 22, the USSR carried out the mobilization of those liable for military service born in 1905–1918; from the first days of the war, a massive registration of volunteers began. On June 23, an emergency body of the highest military command was created in the USSR to direct military operations - the Headquarters of the Main Command, and there was also maximum centralization of military and political power in the hands of Stalin.
On June 22, British Prime Minister William Churchill made a radio statement about support for the USSR in its fight against Hitlerism. On June 23, the US State Department welcomed the efforts Soviet people to repel the German invasion, and on June 24, US President F. Roosevelt promised to provide the USSR with all possible assistance.
On July 18, the Soviet leadership decided to organize the partisan movement in the occupied and front-line areas, which became widespread in the second half of the year.
In the summer and autumn of 1941, about 10 million people were evacuated to the east. and more than 1350 large enterprises. The militarization of the economy began to be carried out with harsh and energetic measures; All the country's material resources were mobilized for military needs.
The main reason for the defeats of the Red Army, despite its quantitative and often qualitative (T-34 and KV tanks) technical superiority, was the poor training of privates and officers, low level operation of military equipment and the troops’ lack of experience in conducting large military operations in modern warfare. Repressions against the high command in 1937–1940 also played a significant role.
Second stage of the German offensive (July 10 – September 30, 1941)
On July 10, Finnish troops launched an offensive and on September 1, the 23rd Soviet Army on the Karelian Isthmus retreated to the line of the old state border, occupied before the Finnish War of 1939–1940. By October 10, the front had stabilized along the line Kestenga - Ukhta - Rugozero - Medvezhyegorsk - Lake Onega. - R. Svir. The enemy was unable to cut off the communication routes between European Russia and the northern ports.
On July 10, Army Group North launched an offensive in the Leningrad and Tallinn directions. Novgorod fell on August 15, Gatchina on August 21. On August 30, the Germans reached the Neva, cutting off the railway connection with the city, and on September 8 they took Shlisselburg and closed the blockade ring around Leningrad. Only the tough measures of the new commander of the Leningrad Front, G.K. Zhukov, made it possible to stop the enemy by September 26.
On July 16, the Romanian 4th Army took Chisinau; The defense of Odessa lasted about two months. Soviet troops left the city only in the first half of October. At the beginning of September, Guderian crossed the Desna and on September 7 captured Konotop (“Konotop breakthrough”). Five Soviet armies were surrounded; the number of prisoners was 665 thousand. Left Bank Ukraine was in the hands of the Germans; the path to Donbass was open; Soviet troops in Crimea found themselves cut off from the main forces.
Defeats on the fronts prompted Headquarters to issue order No. 270 on August 16, which qualified all soldiers and officers who surrendered as traitors and deserters; their families were deprived of state support and subject to exile.
Third stage of the German offensive (September 30 – December 5, 1941)
On September 30, Army Group Center launched an operation to capture Moscow (“Typhoon”). On October 3, Guderian's tanks broke into Oryol and reached the road to Moscow. On October 6–8, all three armies of the Bryansk Front were surrounded south of Bryansk, and the main forces of the Reserve (19th, 20th, 24th and 32nd armies) were surrounded west of Vyazma; the Germans captured 664 thousand prisoners and more than 1200 tanks. But the advance of the 2nd Wehrmacht tank group to Tula was thwarted by the stubborn resistance of M.E. Katukov's brigade near Mtsensk; The 4th Tank Group occupied Yukhnov and rushed to Maloyaroslavets, but was delayed at Medyn by Podolsk cadets (6–10 October); The autumn thaw also slowed down the pace of the German advance.
On October 10, the Germans attacked the right wing of the Reserve Front (renamed the Western Front); On October 12, the 9th Army captured Staritsa, and on October 14, Rzhev. On October 19, a state of siege was declared in Moscow. On October 29, Guderian tried to take Tula, but was repulsed with heavy losses. In early November, the new commander of the Western Front, Zhukov, with an incredible effort of all his forces and constant counterattacks, managed, despite huge losses in manpower and equipment, to stop the Germans in other directions.
On September 27, the Germans broke through the defense line of the Southern Front. Most of Donbass fell into German hands. During the successful counter-offensive of the troops of the Southern Front on November 29, Rostov was liberated, and the Germans were driven back to the Mius River.
In the second half of October, the 11th German Army broke through into Crimea and by mid-November captured almost the entire peninsula. Soviet troops managed to hold only Sevastopol.
Counter-offensive of the Red Army near Moscow (December 5, 1941 – January 7, 1942)
On December 5–6, the Kalinin, Western and Southwestern fronts switched to offensive operations in the northwestern and southwestern directions. The successful advance of the Soviet troops forced Hitler on December 8 to issue a directive to go on the defensive along the entire front line. On December 18, the troops of the Western Front began an offensive in the central direction. As a result, by the beginning of the year the Germans were thrown back 100–250 km to the west. There was a threat of envelopment of Army Group Center from the north and south. The strategic initiative passed to the Red Army.
The success of the operation near Moscow prompted Headquarters to decide to launch a general offensive along the entire front from Lake Ladoga to the Crimea. Offensive operations Soviet troops in December 1941 - April 1942 led to a significant change in the military-strategic situation on the Soviet-German front: the Germans were driven back from Moscow, the Moscow, part of the Kalinin, Oryol and Smolensk regions were liberated. There was also a psychological turning point among soldiers and civilians: faith in victory strengthened, the myth of the invincibility of the Wehrmacht was destroyed. The collapse of the plan for a lightning war raised doubts about the successful outcome of the war among both the German military-political leadership and ordinary Germans.
Lyuban operation (January 13 – June 25)
The Lyuban operation was aimed at breaking the blockade of Leningrad. On January 13, the forces of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts began an offensive in several directions, planning to unite at Lyuban and encircle the enemy’s Chudov group. On March 19, the Germans launched a counterattack, cutting off the 2nd Shock Army from the rest of the forces of the Volkhov Front. Soviet troops repeatedly tried to unblock it and resume the offensive. On May 21, Headquarters decided to withdraw it, but on June 6, the Germans completely closed the encirclement. On June 20, soldiers and officers received orders to leave the encirclement on their own, but only a few managed to do this (according to various estimates, from 6 to 16 thousand people); Army commander A.A. Vlasov surrendered.
Military operations in May-November 1942
Having defeated the Crimean Front (almost 200 thousand people were captured), the Germans occupied Kerch on May 16, and Sevastopol in early July. On May 12, troops of the Southwestern Front and Southern Front launched an attack on Kharkov. For several days it developed successfully, but on May 19 the Germans defeated the 9th Army, throwing it back beyond the Seversky Donets, went to the rear of the advancing Soviet troops and captured them in a pincer movement on May 23; the number of prisoners reached 240 thousand. June 28–30 began German offensive against the left wing of the Bryansk and the right wing of the Southwestern Front. On July 8, the Germans captured Voronezh and reached the Middle Don. By July 22, the 1st and 4th Tank Armies reached the Southern Don. On July 24, Rostov-on-Don was captured.
In the context of a military catastrophe in the south, on July 28, Stalin issued order No. 227 “Not a step back,” which provided for severe punishments for retreating without instructions from above, barrier detachments to combat those who left their positions without permission, and penal units for operations in the most dangerous sectors of the front. On the basis of this order, about 1 million military personnel were convicted during the war years, 160 thousand of them were shot, and 400 thousand were sent to penal companies.
On July 25, the Germans crossed the Don and rushed south. In mid-August, the Germans established control over almost all passes in the central part of Main Caucasian ridge. In the Grozny direction, the Germans occupied Nalchik on October 29, they failed to take Ordzhonikidze and Grozny, and in mid-November their further advance was stopped.
On August 16, German troops launched an offensive towards Stalingrad. On September 13, fighting began in Stalingrad itself. In the second half of October - the first half of November, the Germans captured a significant part of the city, but were unable to break the resistance of the defenders.
By mid-November, the Germans had established control over the Right Bank of the Don and most of the North Caucasus, but did not achieve their strategic goals - to break through to the Volga region and Transcaucasia. This was prevented by counterattacks of the Red Army in other directions (Rzhev meat grinder, tank battle between Zubtsov and Karmanovo, etc.), which, although they were not successful, nevertheless did not allow the Wehrmacht command to transfer reserves to the south.
Second period of the war (November 19, 1942 – December 31, 1943): a radical turning point
Victory at Stalingrad (November 19, 1942 – February 2, 1943)
On November 19, units of the Southwestern Front broke through the defenses of the 3rd Romanian Army and on November 21 captured five Romanian divisions in a pincer movement (Operation Saturn). On November 23, units of the two fronts united at Sovetsky and surrounded the enemy’s Stalingrad group.
On December 16, troops of the Voronezh and Southwestern Fronts launched Operation Little Saturn in the Middle Don, defeated the 8th Italian Army, and on January 26, the 6th Army was cut into two parts. On January 31, the southern group led by F. Paulus capitulated, on February 2 – the northern; 91 thousand people were captured. The Battle of Stalingrad, despite the heavy losses of Soviet troops, was the beginning of a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War. The Wehrmacht suffered a major defeat and lost its strategic initiative. Japan and Türkiye abandoned their intention to enter the war on the side of Germany.
Economic recovery and transition to the offensive in the central direction
By this time, a turning point had also occurred in the sphere of the Soviet military economy. Already in the winter of 1941/1942 it was possible to stop the decline in mechanical engineering. The rise of ferrous metallurgy began in March, and the energy and fuel industry began in the second half of 1942. By the beginning, the USSR had a clear economic superiority over Germany.
In November 1942 - January 1943, the Red Army went on the offensive in the central direction.
Operation Mars (Rzhevsko-Sychevskaya) was carried out with the aim of eliminating the Rzhevsko-Vyazma bridgehead. Formations of the Western Front made their way through the Rzhev-Sychevka railway and carried out a raid on enemy rear lines, but significant losses and a lack of tanks, guns and ammunition forced them to stop, but this operation did not allow the Germans to transfer part of their forces from the central direction to Stalingrad.
Liberation of the North Caucasus (January 1 – February 12, 1943)
On January 1–3, the operation to liberate the North Caucasus and the Don bend began. Mozdok was liberated on January 3, Kislovodsk, Mineralnye Vody, Essentuki and Pyatigorsk were liberated on January 10–11, Stavropol was liberated on January 21. On January 24, the Germans surrendered Armavir, and on January 30, Tikhoretsk. On February 4, the Black Sea Fleet landed troops in the Myskhako area south of Novorossiysk. On February 12, Krasnodar was captured. However, the lack of forces prevented Soviet troops from encircling the enemy’s North Caucasian group.
Breaking the siege of Leningrad (January 12–30, 1943)
Fearing encirclement of the main forces of Army Group Center on the Rzhev-Vyazma bridgehead, the German command began their systematic withdrawal on March 1. On March 2, units of the Kalinin and Western Fronts began pursuing the enemy. On March 3, Rzhev was liberated, on March 6, Gzhatsk, and on March 12, Vyazma.
The January-March 1943 campaign, despite a number of setbacks, led to the liberation of a vast territory (North Caucasus, lower reaches of the Don, Voroshilovgrad, Voronezh, Kursk regions, part of the Belgorod, Smolensk and Kalinin regions). The blockade of Leningrad was broken, the Demyansky and Rzhev-Vyazemsky ledges were eliminated. Control over the Volga and Don was restored. The Wehrmacht suffered huge losses (approx. 1.2 million people). The depletion of human resources forced the Nazi leadership to carry out a total mobilization of elders (over 46 years old) and younger ages(16–17 years old).
Since the winter of 1942/1943, the partisan movement in the German rear became an important military factor. The partisans caused serious damage to the German army, destroying manpower, blowing up warehouses and trains, and disrupting the communications system. The largest operations were raids by the M.I. detachment. Naumov in Kursk, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovograd, Odessa, Vinnitsa, Kyiv and Zhitomir (February-March 1943) and detachment S.A. Kovpak in the Rivne, Zhitomir and Kyiv regions (February-May 1943).
Defensive Battle of Kursk (July 5–23, 1943)
The Wehrmacht command developed Operation Citadel to encircle a strong group of the Red Army on the Kursk ledge through counter tank attacks from the north and south; If successful, it was planned to carry out Operation Panther to defeat the Southwestern Front. However, Soviet intelligence unraveled the Germans' plans, and in April-June a powerful defensive system of eight lines was created on the Kursk salient.
On July 5, the German 9th Army launched an attack on Kursk from the north, and the 4th Panzer Army from the south. On the northern flank, already on July 10, the Germans went on the defensive. On the southern wing, Wehrmacht tank columns reached Prokhorovka on July 12, but were stopped, and by July 23, the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe Front drove them back to their original lines. Operation Citadel failed.
The general offensive of the Red Army in the second half of 1943 (July 12 - December 24, 1943). Liberation of Left Bank Ukraine
On July 12, units of the Western and Bryansk fronts broke through the German defenses at Zhilkovo and Novosil, and by August 18, Soviet troops cleared the Oryol ledge of the enemy.
By September 22, units of the Southwestern Front pushed the Germans back beyond the Dnieper and reached the approaches to Dnepropetrovsk (now the Dnieper) and Zaporozhye; formations of the Southern Front occupied Taganrog, on September 8 Stalino (now Donetsk), on September 10 - Mariupol; The result of the operation was the liberation of Donbass.
On August 3, troops of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts broke through the defenses of Army Group South in several places and captured Belgorod on August 5. On August 23, Kharkov was captured.
On September 25, through flank attacks from the south and north, the troops of the Western Front captured Smolensk and by the beginning of October entered the territory of Belarus.
On August 26, the Central, Voronezh and Steppe Fronts began the Chernigov-Poltava operation. The troops of the Central Front broke through the enemy defenses south of Sevsk and occupied the city on August 27; On September 13, we reached the Dnieper on the Loev-Kyiv section. Units of the Voronezh Front reached the Dnieper in the Kyiv-Cherkassy section. Units of the Steppe Front approached the Dnieper in the Cherkassy-Verkhnedneprovsk section. As a result, the Germans lost almost all of Left Bank Ukraine. At the end of September, Soviet troops crossed the Dnieper in several places and captured 23 bridgeheads on its right bank.
On September 1, the troops of the Bryansk Front overcame the Wehrmacht Hagen defense line and occupied Bryansk; by October 3, the Red Army reached the line of the Sozh River in Eastern Belarus.
On September 9, the North Caucasus Front, in cooperation with the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov Military Flotilla, launched an offensive on the Taman Peninsula. Having broken through the Blue Line, Soviet troops took Novorossiysk on September 16, and by October 9 they had completely cleared the peninsula of Germans.
On October 10, the Southwestern Front began an operation to liquidate the Zaporozhye bridgehead and captured Zaporozhye on October 14.
On October 11, the Voronezh (from October 20 - 1st Ukrainian) Front began the Kyiv operation. After two unsuccessful attempts to take the capital of Ukraine with an attack from the south (from the Bukrin bridgehead), it was decided to launch the main blow from the north (from the Lyutezh bridgehead). On November 1, in order to divert the enemy's attention, the 27th and 40th armies moved towards Kiev from the Bukrinsky bridgehead, and on November 3, the strike group of the 1st Ukrainian Front suddenly attacked it from the Lyutezhsky bridgehead and broke through the German defenses. On November 6, Kyiv was liberated.
On November 13, the Germans, having brought up reserves, launched a counter-offensive in the Zhitomir direction against the 1st Ukrainian Front in order to recapture Kyiv and restore defenses along the Dnieper. But the Red Army retained a vast strategic Kiev bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper.
During the period of hostilities from June 1 to December 31, the Wehrmacht suffered huge losses (1 million 413 thousand people), which it was no longer able to fully compensate. A significant part of the USSR territory occupied in 1941–1942 was liberated. The plans of the German command to gain a foothold on the Dnieper lines failed. Conditions were created for the expulsion of the Germans from Right Bank Ukraine.
Third period of the war (December 24, 1943 – May 11, 1945): defeat of Germany
After a series of failures throughout 1943, the German command abandoned attempts to seize the strategic initiative and switched to a tough defense. The main task of the Wehrmacht in the north was to prevent the Red Army from breaking through into the Baltic states and East Prussia, in the center to the border with Poland, and in the south to the Dniester and the Carpathians. Soviet military leadership set the goal of the winter-spring campaign to defeat German troops on the extreme flanks - on the Right Bank of Ukraine and near Leningrad.
Liberation of Right Bank Ukraine and Crimea
On December 24, 1943, troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front launched an offensive in the western and southwestern directions (Zhitomir-Berdichev operation). Only at the cost of great effort and significant losses did the Germans manage to stop the Soviet troops on the line Sarny - Polonnaya - Kazatin - Zhashkov. On January 5–6, units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front attacked in the Kirovograd direction and captured Kirovograd on January 8, but were forced to stop the offensive on January 10. The Germans did not allow the troops of both fronts to unite and were able to hold the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky ledge, which posed a threat to Kyiv from the south.
On January 24, the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts launched a joint operation to defeat the Korsun-Shevchenskovsky enemy group. On January 28, the 6th and 5th Guards Tank Armies united at Zvenigorodka and closed the encirclement ring. On January 30, Kanev was taken, on February 14, Korsun-Shevchenkovsky. On February 17, the liquidation of the “boiler” was completed; More than 18 thousand Wehrmacht soldiers were captured.
On January 27, units of the 1st Ukrainian Front launched an attack from the Sarn region in the Lutsk-Rivne direction. On January 30, the offensive of the troops of the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts began on the Nikopol bridgehead. Having overcome fierce enemy resistance, on February 8 they captured Nikopol, on February 22 - Krivoy Rog, and by February 29 they reached the river. Ingulets.
As a result of the winter campaign of 1943/1944, the Germans were finally driven back from the Dnieper. In an effort to make a strategic breakthrough to the borders of Romania and prevent the Wehrmacht from gaining a foothold on the Southern Bug, Dniester and Prut rivers, the Headquarters developed a plan to encircle and defeat Army Group South in Right Bank Ukraine through a coordinated attack by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts .
The final chord of the spring operation in the south was the expulsion of the Germans from Crimea. On May 7–9, troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front, with the support of the Black Sea Fleet, took Sevastopol by storm, and by May 12 they defeated the remnants of the 17th Army that fled to Chersonesus.
Leningrad-Novgorod operation of the Red Army (January 14 – March 1, 1944)
On January 14, troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts launched an offensive south of Leningrad and near Novgorod. After defeating the German 18th Army and pushing it back to Luga, they liberated Novgorod on January 20. In early February, units of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts reached the approaches to Narva, Gdov and Luga; On February 4 they took Gdov, on February 12 - Luga. The threat of encirclement forced the 18th Army to hastily retreat to the southwest. On February 17, the 2nd Baltic Front carried out a series of attacks against the 16th German Army on the Lovat River. At the beginning of March, the Red Army reached the Panther defensive line (Narva - Lake Peipus - Pskov - Ostrov); Most of the Leningrad and Kalinin regions were liberated.
Military operations in the central direction in December 1943 - April 1944
As the tasks of the winter offensive of the 1st Baltic, Western and Belorussian fronts, the Headquarters set the troops to reach the line Polotsk - Lepel - Mogilev - Ptich and the liberation of Eastern Belarus.
In December 1943 - February 1944, the 1st PribF made three attempts to capture Vitebsk, which did not lead to the capture of the city, but completely depleted the enemy forces. The offensive actions of the Polar Front in the Orsha direction on February 22–25 and March 5–9, 1944 were also unsuccessful.
In the Mozyr direction, the Belorussian Front (BelF) on January 8 dealt a strong blow to the flanks of the 2nd German Army, but thanks to a hasty retreat it managed to avoid encirclement. Lack of forces prevented Soviet troops from encircling and destroying the enemy’s Bobruisk group, and on February 26 the offensive was stopped. Formed on February 17 at the junction of the 1st Ukrainian and Belorussian (from February 24, 1st Belorussian) fronts, the 2nd Belorussian Front began the Polesie operation on March 15 with the goal of capturing Kovel and breaking through to Brest. Soviet troops surrounded Kovel, but on March 23 the Germans launched a counterattack and on April 4 released the Kovel group.
Thus, in the central direction during the winter-spring campaign of 1944, the Red Army was unable to achieve its goals; On April 15, she went on the defensive.
Offensive in Karelia (June 10 – August 9, 1944). Finland's withdrawal from the war
After the loss of most of the occupied territory of the USSR, the main task of the Wehrmacht was to prevent the Red Army from entering Europe and not to lose its allies. That is why the Soviet military-political leadership, having failed in attempts to reach a peace agreement with Finland in February-April 1944, decided to begin the summer campaign of the year with a strike in the north.
June 10, 1944 LenF troops with support Baltic Fleet launched an offensive on the Karelian Isthmus, as a result, control over the White Sea-Baltic Canal and the strategically important Kirov Railway connecting Murmansk with European Russia. By early August, Soviet troops had liberated all of the occupied territory east of Ladoga; in the Kuolisma area they reached the Finnish border. Having suffered defeat, Finland entered into negotiations with the USSR on August 25. On September 4, she broke off relations with Berlin and ceased hostilities, on September 15 declared war on Germany, and on September 19 concluded a truce with the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. The length of the Soviet-German front was reduced by a third. This allowed the Red Army to free up significant forces for operations in other directions.
Liberation of Belarus (June 23 – early August 1944)
Successes in Karelia prompted the Headquarters to carry out a large-scale operation to defeat the enemy in the central direction with the forces of three Belarusian and 1st Baltic fronts (Operation Bagration), which became the main event of the summer-autumn campaign of 1944.
The general offensive of the Soviet troops began on June 23–24. A coordinated attack by the 1st PribF and the right wing of the 3rd BF ended on June 26–27 with the liberation of Vitebsk and the encirclement of five German divisions. On June 26, units of the 1st BF took Zhlobin, on June 27–29 they surrounded and destroyed the enemy’s Bobruisk group, and on June 29 they liberated Bobruisk. As a result of the rapid offensive of the three Belarusian fronts, the German command’s attempt to organize a defense line along the Berezina was thwarted; On July 3, troops of the 1st and 3rd BF broke into Minsk and captured the 4th German Army south of Borisov (liquidated by July 11).
The German front began to collapse. Units of the 1st PribF occupied Polotsk on July 4 and, moving down the Western Dvina, entered the territory of Latvia and Lithuania, reached the coast of the Gulf of Riga, cutting off Army Group North stationed in the Baltic States from the rest of the Wehrmacht forces. Units of the right wing of the 3rd BF, having taken Lepel on June 28, broke through into the valley of the river in early July. Viliya (Nyaris), on August 17 they reached the border of East Prussia.
The troops of the left wing of the 3rd BF, having made a swift rush from Minsk, took Lida on July 3, on July 16, together with the 2nd BF, they took Grodno and at the end of July approached the north-eastern protrusion of the Polish border. The 2nd BF, advancing to the southwest, captured Bialystok on July 27 and drove the Germans beyond the Narev River. Parts of the right wing of the 1st BF, having liberated Baranovichi on July 8, and Pinsk on July 14, at the end of July they reached the Western Bug and reached the central section of the Soviet-Polish border; On July 28, Brest was captured.
As a result of Operation Bagration, Belarus, most of Lithuania and part of Latvia were liberated. The possibility of an offensive in East Prussia and Poland opened up.
Liberation of Western Ukraine and the offensive in Eastern Poland (July 13 – August 29, 1944)
Trying to stop the advance of Soviet troops in Belarus, the Wehrmacht command was forced to transfer units there from other sectors of the Soviet-German front. This facilitated the operations of the Red Army in other directions. On July 13–14, the offensive of the 1st Ukrainian Front began in Western Ukraine. Already on July 17 they crossed state border USSR and entered South-Eastern Poland.
On July 18, the left wing of the 1st BF launched an offensive near Kovel. At the end of July they approached Prague (the right bank suburb of Warsaw), which they managed to take only on September 14. At the beginning of August, German resistance increased sharply, and the advance of the Red Army was stopped. Because of this, the Soviet command was unable to provide the necessary assistance to the uprising that broke out on August 1 in the Polish capital under the leadership of the Home Army, and by the beginning of October it was brutally suppressed by the Wehrmacht.
Offensive in the Eastern Carpathians (September 8 – October 28, 1944)
After the occupation of Estonia in the summer of 1941, Metropolitan of Tallinn. Alexander (Paulus) announced the separation of Estonian parishes from the Russian Orthodox Church (the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church was created on the initiative of Alexander (Paulus) in 1923, in 1941 the bishop repented of the sin of schism). In October 1941, at the insistence of the German General Commissioner of Belarus, the Belarusian Church was created. However, Panteleimon (Rozhnovsky), who headed it in the rank of Metropolitan of Minsk and Belarus, maintained canonical communication with the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan. Sergius (Stragorodsky). After the forced retirement of Metropolitan Panteleimon in June 1942, his successor was Archbishop Philotheus (Narco), who also refused to arbitrarily proclaim a national autocephalous Church.
Considering the patriotic position of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan. Sergius (Stragorodsky), the German authorities initially prevented the activities of those priests and parishes that declared their affiliation with the Moscow Patriarchate. Over time, the German authorities began to be more tolerant of the communities of the Moscow Patriarchate. According to the occupiers, these communities only verbally declared their loyalty to the Moscow center, but in reality they were ready to assist the German army in the destruction of the atheistic Soviet state.
In the occupied territory, thousands of churches, churches, and houses of worship of various Protestant movements (primarily Lutherans and Pentecostals) resumed their activities. This process was especially active in the Baltic states, in the Vitebsk, Gomel, Mogilev regions of Belarus, in the Dnepropetrovsk, Zhitomir, Zaporozhye, Kiev, Voroshilovgrad, Poltava regions of Ukraine, in the Rostov, Smolensk regions of the RSFSR.
The religious factor was taken into account when planning domestic policy in areas where Islam traditionally spread, primarily in the Crimea and the Caucasus. German propaganda declared respect for the values of Islam, presented the occupation as the liberation of peoples from the “Bolshevik godless yoke,” and guaranteed the creation of conditions for the revival of Islam. The occupiers willingly agreed to open mosques in almost every locality“Muslim regions”, provided the Muslim clergy with the opportunity to contact believers through radio and print. Throughout the occupied territory where Muslims lived, the positions of mullahs and senior mullahs were restored, whose rights and privileges were equal to the heads of administrations of cities and towns.
When forming special units from among prisoners of war of the Red Army great attention was paid to religious affiliation: if representatives of peoples who traditionally professed Christianity were mainly sent to the “army of General Vlasov”, then representatives of “Islamic” peoples were sent to such formations as the “Turkestan Legion”, “Idel-Ural”.
The “liberalism” of the German authorities did not apply to all religions. Many communities found themselves on the verge of destruction, for example, in Dvinsk alone, almost all of the 35 synagogues operating before the war were destroyed, and up to 14 thousand Jews were shot. Most of the Evangelical Christian Baptist communities that found themselves in the occupied territory were also destroyed or dispersed by the authorities.
Forced to leave the occupied territories under the pressure of Soviet troops, the Nazi invaders took away liturgical objects, icons, paintings, books, and items made of precious metals from prayer buildings.
According to far from complete data from the Extraordinary State Commission to establish and investigate the atrocities of the Nazi invaders, 1,670 Orthodox churches, 69 chapels, 237 churches, 532 synagogues, 4 mosques and 254 other prayer buildings were completely destroyed, looted or desecrated in the occupied territory. Among those destroyed or desecrated by the Nazis were priceless monuments of history, culture and architecture, incl. dating back to the 11th-17th centuries, in Novgorod, Chernigov, Smolensk, Polotsk, Kyiv, Pskov. Many prayer buildings were converted by the occupiers into prisons, barracks, stables, and garages.
Position and patriotic activities of the Russian Orthodox Church during the war
June 22, 1941 Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan. Sergius (Stragorodsky) compiled the “Message to the Shepherds and Flock of Christ Orthodox Church", in which he revealed the anti-Christian essence of fascism and called on believers to defend themselves. In their letters to the Patriarchate, believers reported on the widespread voluntary collection of donations for the needs of the front and defense of the country.
After the death of Patriarch Sergius, according to his will, Metropolitan took over as locum tenens of the patriarchal throne. Alexy (Simansky), unanimously elected at the last meeting of the Local Council on January 31-February 2, 1945, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. The Council was attended by Patriarchs of Alexandria Christopher II, Antioch Alexander III and Georgian Callistratus (Tsintsadze), representatives of the Constantinople, Jerusalem, Serbian and Romanian patriarchs.
In 1945, the so-called Estonian schism was overcome, and the Orthodox parishes and clergy of Estonia were accepted into communion with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Patriotic activities of communities of other faiths and religions
Immediately after the start of the war, the leaders of almost all religious associations of the USSR supported the liberation struggle of the peoples of the country against the Nazi aggressor. Addressing believers with patriotic messages, they called upon them to honorably fulfill their religious and civil duty to protect the Fatherland, to provide all possible financial assistance the needs of the front and rear. The leaders of most religious associations of the USSR condemned those representatives of the clergy who deliberately went over to the side of the enemy and helped to impose a “new order” in the occupied territory.
The head of the Russian Old Believers of the Belokrinitsky hierarchy, Archbishop. Irinarch (Parfyonov), in his Christmas message of 1942, called on the Old Believers, a considerable number of whom fought on the fronts, to serve valiantly in the Red Army and resist the enemy in the occupied territory in the ranks of the partisans. In May 1942, the leaders of the Unions of Baptists and Evangelical Christians addressed a letter of appeal to believers; the appeal spoke of the danger of fascism “for the cause of the Gospel” and called on “brothers and sisters in Christ” to fulfill “their duty to God and to the Motherland” by being “the best warriors at the front and the best workers in the rear.” Baptist communities were engaged in sewing linen, collecting clothes and other things for soldiers and families of the dead, helped in caring for the wounded and sick in hospitals, and looked after orphans in orphanages. Using funds raised in Baptist communities, the Good Samaritan ambulance plane was built to transport seriously wounded soldiers to the rear. The leader of renovationism, A. I. Vvedensky, repeatedly made patriotic appeals.
In relation to a number of other religious associations, state policy during the war years remained invariably tough. First of all, this concerned “anti-state, anti-Soviet and fanatical sects,” which included the Doukhobors
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How to tell children about the Great Patriotic War? With this story you can tell your children about the war in an accessible way.
It presents a chronology of the main events of the Great Patriotic War.
Victory will be ours!
- War! War!
On June 22, 1941, our Motherland was attacked German fascists. They attacked like thieves, like robbers. They wanted to seize our lands, our cities and villages, and either kill our people or make them their servants and slaves. The Great Patriotic War began. It lasted four years.
The path to victory was not easy. The enemies attacked us unexpectedly. They had more tanks and planes. Our armies were retreating. The battles took place on the ground, in the sky, and at sea. Great battles thundered: Moscow, Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk. Heroic Sevastopol did not surrender to the enemy for 250 days. For 900 days, courageous Leningrad held out under a terrible siege. The Caucasus fought bravely. In Ukraine, Belarus, and other places, formidable partisans crushed the invaders. Millions of people, including children, worked at factory machines and in the fields of the country. The Soviet people (the Soviet Union was the name of our country in those years) did everything to stop the Nazis. Even in the most difficult days, they firmly believed: “The enemy will be defeated! Victory will be ours!"
And then the day came when the advance of the invaders was stopped. The Soviet armies drove the Nazis out of their native land.
And again battles, battles, battles, battles. The blows of the Soviet troops are becoming more and more powerful, more and more indestructible. And the most long-awaited, greatest day came. Our soldiers reached the borders of Germany and stormed the capital of the Nazis - the city of Berlin. It was 1945. Spring was blooming. It was the month of May.
The Nazis admitted their complete defeat on May 9. Since then, this day has become our great holiday - Victory Day.
Our people showed miracles of heroism and courage while defending their native land from the Nazis.
Brest Fortress stood on the very border. The Nazis attacked it on the very first day of the war. They thought: one day - and the fortress is in their hands. Our soldiers held out for a whole month. And when there was no strength left and the Nazis broke into the fortress, its last defender wrote on the wall with a bayonet: “I’m dying, but I’m not giving up.”
There was the Great Moscow Battle. Fascist tanks rushed forward. On one of the sections of the front, the enemy’s road was blocked by 28 heroic soldiers from General Panfilov’s division. Dozens of tanks were knocked out by soldiers. And they kept walking and walking. The soldiers were exhausted in battle. And the tanks kept coming and going. And yet Panfilov’s men did not retreat in this terrible battle. The Nazis were not allowed to enter Moscow.
General Dmitry Karbyshev was wounded in battle and was captured. He was a professor, a very famous military builder. The Nazis wanted the general to come over to their side. They promised life and high positions. Dmitry Karbyshev did not betray his homeland. The Nazis executed the general. They took us outside into the bitter cold. They doused him with cold water from hoses.
Vasily Zaitsev - famous hero Battle of Stalingrad. From my sniper rifle he destroyed three hundred fascists. Zaitsev was elusive to his enemies. The fascist commanders had to call the famous shooter from Berlin. That's who will destroy Soviet sniper. It turned out the other way around. Zaitsev killed a Berlin celebrity. “Three hundred and one,” said Vasily Zaitsev.
During the battles near Stalingrad, field telephone communications were interrupted in one of the artillery regiments. An ordinary soldier, signalman Titaev, crawled under enemy fire to find out where the wire was broken. Found. He just tried to twist the ends of the wires when a fragment of an enemy shell hit the fighter. Before Titaev had time to connect the wires, then, dying, he clamped them tightly with his lips. The connection is working. "Fire! Fire!" - the commands sounded again in the artillery regiment.
The war brought us many deaths. The twelve Grigoryan soldiers were members of a large Armenian family. They served in the same department. They went to the front together. Together we defended our native Caucasus. Together with everyone else we went forward. One reached Berlin. Eleven Grigoryans died. After the war, the residents of the city where the Grigoryans lived planted twelve poplars in honor of the heroes. The poplars have now grown. They stand exactly in a row, like soldiers in formation - tall and beautiful. Eternal memory to the Grigoryans.
Teenagers and even children took part in the fight against enemies. Many of them were awarded military medals and orders for their bravery and courage. Valya Kotik, at the age of twelve, joined a partisan detachment as a scout. At the age of fourteen, for his exploits he became the most young hero Soviet Union.
An ordinary machine gunner fought in Sevastopol. Slayed enemies accurately. Left alone in the trench, he took on an unequal battle. He was wounded and shell-shocked. But he held the trench. Destroyed up to a hundred fascists. He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. The machine gunner's name was Ivan Bogatyr. You won't find a better surname.
Fighter pilot Alexander Pokryshkin shot down the first fascist plane at the very beginning of the war. Lucky Pokryshkin. The number of planes he shot down increases - 5, 10, 15. The names of the fronts on which the pilot fought change. The heroic score of victories grew and grew—20, 30, 40. The war was drawing to a close—50, 55, 59. Fifty-nine enemy planes were shot down by fighter pilot Alexander Pokryshkin.
He became a Hero of the Soviet Union.
Became twice Hero of the Soviet Union.
Became Hero of the Soviet Union three times.
Eternal glory to you, Alexander Pokryshkin, the first three times hero in the country.
And here is the story of another feat. Pilot Alexey Maresyev was shot down in an air battle. He survived, but was seriously wounded. His plane crashed on enemy territory in a deep forest. It was winter. He walked for 18 days, and then crawled to his own. He was picked up by the partisans. The pilot had frostbitten feet. They had to be amputated. How can you fly without legs?! Maresyev learned not only to walk and even dance on prosthetics, but most importantly, to fly a fighter. In the very first air battles, he shot down three fascist planes.
We walked last days war. Heavy fighting took place on the streets of Berlin. Soldier Nikolai Masalov on one of the Berlin streets, risking his life under enemy fire, carried a crying woman from the battlefield. German girl. The war is over. In the very center of Berlin, in a park on a high hill, a monument now stands Soviet soldier. He stands with the rescued girl in his arms.
Without exaggeration, the Great Patriotic War can be called the largest event of the 20th century, which created a real explosion in the history of our country and left an indelible mark on the history of the whole world.
Today in the literature one can find conflicting opinions about the outbreak of hostilities. Some researchers argue that Hitler’s attack came as a complete surprise to the Soviet Union, which was one of the reasons for the heavy defeats in the first months of the war. Others are inclined to believe that Stalin nevertheless knew about the prospect of an attack by Germany and was confident that the Non-Aggression Treaty of 1939 would not be respected.
On June 22, 1941, the peaceful early morning was interrupted by explosions and shots that rang out with terrible clarity in the predawn silence. The German army crossed the borders of the USSR, immediately entering the territory stretching from the Black to the Baltic Seas.
During 1941-1942. the situation continued to remain extremely dangerous for the Soviet Union: the troops of Nazi Germany occupied the Baltic states, blockaded Leningrad, and captured Ukraine. The capital was under threat: the Germans were rushing to Moscow.
In 1942, in many places, through superhuman efforts and at the cost of huge losses of soldiers, the army of the Soviet Union launched a counter-offensive, but they quickly choked: terrible defeats followed in the Crimea and near Kharkov.
November 19, 1942 was a turning point in the war. On this day, the Battle of Stalingrad began, which lasted until February 2, 1943. Result: the Nazis were defeated and began to retreat. July 5-12, 1943: Battle of Kursk, which ended with the victory of the Soviet troops and the defeat of the Nazis. During the battles of 1943, our troops liberated Orel, Kharkov, and Kyiv.
From November 28 to December 1, 1943, a conference was held in Tehran at which a decision was made to open a second front. From that moment on, we could count on the help of the allied forces (the main members of the anti-Hitler coalition, besides the USSR, were the USA, England, and China).
1944 is already a year of victories for the USSR. From December 1944 to April 1945, the lands of right-bank Ukraine were liberated; by March 1, 1944 - the blockade of Leningrad was lifted; in May 1944, Sevastopol was recaptured.
July 18, 1944 The Soviet army enters Poland. Now the war is being waged outside the USSR, from whose lands the invader was expelled. In January 1945, the Nazis capitulated near Warsaw. From February 4 to 11, the Yalta Conference took place, discussing the post-war structure of the world.
On May 2, 1945, an event occurred that for many meant the end of the war: the fall of Berlin and the surrender of Germany. The Soviet flag fluttered over the Reichstag. Prague was liberated on May 9.
Today a lot is said and written about the war. The events of those years cause fierce controversy. Be that as it may, one thing is certain: our people faced the most difficult test, which they were able to withstand with honor. A low bow to our grandfathers and great-grandfathers: if it weren’t for them, none of us would simply be in the world!
Brief information about the Great Patriotic War (WWII).
